murdo
Admin Team
Hello everyone. Its been a day of mixed emotions. Joy and sadness. Friendship and loss. We will post up some photos so A2OC can share in Spikes last journey after the weekend. Meanwhile here's the A2OC tribute given in the church today :
It might surprise you to know that the quiet man Graham Keith Paterson was something of a celebrity. Much respected and admired.
To the Audi A2 Owners Club he was Spike..that was his screen name on our website. Spike was Graham's cat.
Those knowing him well would often speak of his mantras . There were a few.. but the one which sums him up best .
If you've nowt good to say then say nothing.
Today as always I've only good things to say about you my friend.
Graham bought an Audi A2 in May 2001 after much painstaking research that tested Lake District Audi staff to the limits. Everything had to be just so for the precision engineer buying a piece of innovative engineering years ahead of its time.
He joined the A2 club in April 2002 and over 20 years the name Spike became synonymous with all that was good about our community. He was kind. Helpful. Articulate Knowledgeable. Enthusiastic. Humorous. An incredible memory for details. And a wee bit eccentric.
A private man, Graham was never comfortable in social settings. He told me that his colleagues at Cummins Engines called him the Olympic flame .
Because he never went out.
Graham was much happier at home pottering about the garage on one of his many projects or in the garden. With Jan and their dog Meeka.
He didn't attend our social meets . Much happier with the anonymous help and support he provided to the A2 community in the UK and beyond. Usually in the wee small hours.
He's provided that help and support around 9000 times over 20 years. And that legacy will live on as long as these quirky little aluminum cars remain on the roads of Europe. Graham will still be helping owners maintain their cars. I think he'd like that.
A reluctant tourist, Jan always had to push, prod and persuade Graham to travel anywhere. Its an achievement in itself that she managed to holiday with Graham at a cottage in Ullapool. A place they returned to once it was in the comfort zone ..
So when I suggested to meet with this happily anti social character, it was unthinkable!
With persuasion from Jan and myself however, he agreed reluctantly. Years later he wrote to me reflecting on that meeting. Describing his expectations about the 2 hour journey as going to be 'a waste of diesel'!
A Yorkshireman with Scottish roots, he was born to be a canny man!
However it was my great privilege that he also wrote how wrong his expectations were. Hours melted away in conversation and on returning home to Dalton he couldn't wait for the next time we met. And so a most unlikely friendship took up roots and I'll cherish the memories of visiting Dalton with my family , my kids playing in the garden with Meeka and the quiet look of contentment on Graham's face.
And so it happened that the reluctant tourist, and mythical figure from A2OC , Spike, blew out the olympic flame and started to go out.
Yes it was awkward for him , but he enjoyed it. He never realised the high esteem he was held in by our community. I'll admit to being a little star struck the first time we met . I know many others had exactly the same sentiments.
So to finish, another unthinkable thing happened. Graham suggested an A2 Club social weekend in his home village of Dalton. The second of which most poignantly starts today. The first having been a great success.
And now, it will be the first of many Spike Memorial meetings we will hold each September.
Goodbye dear Spike. You'll always live on within A2OC.
It might surprise you to know that the quiet man Graham Keith Paterson was something of a celebrity. Much respected and admired.
To the Audi A2 Owners Club he was Spike..that was his screen name on our website. Spike was Graham's cat.
Those knowing him well would often speak of his mantras . There were a few.. but the one which sums him up best .
If you've nowt good to say then say nothing.
Today as always I've only good things to say about you my friend.
Graham bought an Audi A2 in May 2001 after much painstaking research that tested Lake District Audi staff to the limits. Everything had to be just so for the precision engineer buying a piece of innovative engineering years ahead of its time.
He joined the A2 club in April 2002 and over 20 years the name Spike became synonymous with all that was good about our community. He was kind. Helpful. Articulate Knowledgeable. Enthusiastic. Humorous. An incredible memory for details. And a wee bit eccentric.
A private man, Graham was never comfortable in social settings. He told me that his colleagues at Cummins Engines called him the Olympic flame .
Because he never went out.
Graham was much happier at home pottering about the garage on one of his many projects or in the garden. With Jan and their dog Meeka.
He didn't attend our social meets . Much happier with the anonymous help and support he provided to the A2 community in the UK and beyond. Usually in the wee small hours.
He's provided that help and support around 9000 times over 20 years. And that legacy will live on as long as these quirky little aluminum cars remain on the roads of Europe. Graham will still be helping owners maintain their cars. I think he'd like that.
A reluctant tourist, Jan always had to push, prod and persuade Graham to travel anywhere. Its an achievement in itself that she managed to holiday with Graham at a cottage in Ullapool. A place they returned to once it was in the comfort zone ..
So when I suggested to meet with this happily anti social character, it was unthinkable!
With persuasion from Jan and myself however, he agreed reluctantly. Years later he wrote to me reflecting on that meeting. Describing his expectations about the 2 hour journey as going to be 'a waste of diesel'!
A Yorkshireman with Scottish roots, he was born to be a canny man!
However it was my great privilege that he also wrote how wrong his expectations were. Hours melted away in conversation and on returning home to Dalton he couldn't wait for the next time we met. And so a most unlikely friendship took up roots and I'll cherish the memories of visiting Dalton with my family , my kids playing in the garden with Meeka and the quiet look of contentment on Graham's face.
And so it happened that the reluctant tourist, and mythical figure from A2OC , Spike, blew out the olympic flame and started to go out.
Yes it was awkward for him , but he enjoyed it. He never realised the high esteem he was held in by our community. I'll admit to being a little star struck the first time we met . I know many others had exactly the same sentiments.
So to finish, another unthinkable thing happened. Graham suggested an A2 Club social weekend in his home village of Dalton. The second of which most poignantly starts today. The first having been a great success.
And now, it will be the first of many Spike Memorial meetings we will hold each September.
Goodbye dear Spike. You'll always live on within A2OC.
